New Hampshire's homeless remembered in Laconia vigil

December 16. 2013 11:25AMLACONIA - The annual Homeless Persons' Memorial Day Vigil will be held Saturday in Veteran's Square.The memorial is held annually on Dec. 21, the longest day of the year and officially the first day of winter, and remembers those who died over the past year in New Hampshire while homeless or recently housed.The observance, coordinated by New Hampshire Catholic Charities and Belknap County Continuum of Care, will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a "candlelight" vigil with participants shining a flashlight or using another instrument.The annual memorial observance has become a tradition among Laconia area faith communities and community service providers and is held in conjunction with National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day.Laconia is one of more than 175 cities nationwide to observe the day.To learn more about the face of homelessness or to make a difference, please contact Leonard Campbell, Parish and Community Services coordinator for Catholic Charities, at 528-3035 or www.nh-cc.org.